can anyone report a measurable change in heart-mass, thickness of its walls or % of ejection -fraction after quiting finasteride?
i only have values after quitting fin. but considering my really high level of fitness while on fin compared to my state of PFS now, i wonder if the heart just became weaker.
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I have Bradycardia and some enlarging of a certain part of the heart which I think is due to PFS. I get arrhythmia after eating certain heavy foods. I have been doing some cycling and HIIT which I believe has helped in general heart health and I dont notice the arrhythmia as much.
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I was super fit prior to PFS and had text book BP. I now have eratic beats and BP with occasional thumping in the chest. Nothing has been identified but cod liver oil/omega 3 has helped steady it to a degree
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On a possibly related note, Accutane has been shown to cause cardiac hypertrophy.
I’ve often had the “butterflies in my chest” feeling during strenous physical activity. Not sure if that is a sign of arrhythmia or not? It was frightening the first few times it happened.
thats interesting. can u link this? i think hypertrophy per se is not bad if it matches the functionality. i now know i didnt lose muscle mass, but the heart doesnt expand as much as while i used fin (LVEDD 47 vs. 52mm) . the output remained the same
E. A. Soriano et al. , “Cardiac remodeling induced by 13-cis retinoic acid treatment in acne patients,” Int. J. Cardiol. , vol. 163, no. 1, pp. 68–71, Feb. 2013.
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Abstract
Background
Currently, 13- cis -retinoic acid (13- cis -RA) is the most effective therapy for acne. Isotretinoin, a first-generation synthetic 13- cis -RA compound, is associated with numerous adverse effects. To investigate the cardiac effects of 13- cis -RA, acne patients receiving 13- cis -RA were studied.
Methods
Twenty male patients with acne were enrolled in the study. Patients were treated with a dose of 0.5 mg/kg/d of isotretinoin. All participants were assessed prior to treatment and after 10 weeks of therapy with Doppler-echocardiogram.
Results
Patients showed reductions in right atrium vertical diameter, left atrium longitudinal diameter, left atrium volume and left ventricular diastolic diameter over the course of treatment. Significant increases in interventricular septum diastolic thickness, posterior wall diastolic thickness, relative wall relative thickness and left ventricle (LV) mass were observed. The LV mass index showed an increase in ventricular mass and a decrease in the cavity size. Examining LV systolic function, a decrease was observed for the cardiac index.
Conclusion
In this study, 10 weeks of 13- cis -RA therapy at a dose of 0.5 mg/kg/d was found to promote concentric-type heart remodeling due to the occurrence of two associated events: heart hypertrophy and hypovolemia.
I have possible left ventricular hypertrophy, also a abnormal heart stress test.
Ive had a echocardiogram it was good.
Ive also tested positive at times for antiphospholipid syndrome, Lupus anticoagulants.
There was a study on increased carotid artery thickness on Accutane.
I had a ultrasound of the carotid arteries, that was good too.
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Was this recently identified as a component of CFS?
ps- Nevermind, it was phospholipid abnormalities associated with CFS, not ABs.
A quick google search shows this is prevalent in only 2-4% of the population. I wonder how many of us also have these antibodies. Additionally, the following study showed that about 50% of people with this antibody have erectile dysfunction moderately/severely.
I’m am not trying to imply this is the cause of our condition. The ED in these patients may be due to blood flow issues in these patients, which may only be a part of our disease and not the entire condition.
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I think ive seen it in the same wheelhouse as CFS.
“Sticky Blood” – Antiphospholipid Syndrome, POTS, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia – The Dysautonomia Conference #4
Dr. Schofield reported that anti-coagulation in combination with IVIG can result in “meaningful clinical improvement” in patients with autoimmune dsyautonomia.
I have kind of forgotten about this or put in on the backburner, but its something to keep in mind.
Do you have a strong response to aspirin? (blood thinner)
I also did test positive for a cardiolipin antibody and phosphatidylserine
Some of these antibodies come and go, for example I tested positive for lupus anticoagulant and then tested again later like your suppose to, and it didnt flag all the way.
Thinking about this again, has this been looked into with others on here?
also some of this lead my down the road to look at vitamin k2, and a possible vascular antagonism with Accutane, ive seen a link with Fin too.
k2 can also effect hormones, I wouldnt recommend it on its own, Ive have concerns about its interaction with a possible dysbiosis.
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I don’t take aspirin so I couldn’t tell you how I respond to it.